Michigan
Michigan’s top Democrats are all in Chicago. Who’s the ‘acting’ governor?
Chicago — None of the six state officials able to serve as Michigan’s governor or acting governor are physically in the state this week, prompting allegations from some Republicans that the lack of a chief executive within the state’s boundaries is unconstitutional.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in an interview Wednesday night from the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago said she remains the governor and that she would return to Michigan should anything occur that requires her attention.
“I am the governor. I’m always the governor of Michigan. It’s 24/7,” Whitmer said. “Obviously, if there is something official that needs to be done I can get back over the state line in about an hour.”
The Michigan constitution requires that, should a governor be absent from the state, his or her powers and duties be transferred down in order of succession to one of the state’s five highest elected officials: Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Attorney General Dana Nessel, Speaker Pro Tempore in the Senate Jeremy Moss and House Speaker Joe Tate.
Gilchrist, Benson and Nessel have signed bills in the past under the title of “acting governor” while Whitmer was out of state.
But each of those five successors and Whitmer have been present at Michigan Democratic delegation breakfasts at the Hilton Chicago, with the delegation at the United Center and at other events throughout the Windy City this week.
Whitmer in 2019 also appointed five individuals to succeed her in the event of an emergency in which no one in the line of elected officials is able to perform the duties of the office. But those individuals are meant to be called on in the event of a disaster. Those individuals are State Treasurer Rachel Eubanks, former Lt. Gov. John D. Cherry, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans, businessman Gary Torgow and U.S. Debbie Stabenow.
Evans and Stabenow also are in Chicago.
Whitmer, when asked if Eubanks was intended to be acting governor during the Democratic National Convention, said she was not.
State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Cannon Township, called the governor and her successors’ absence a “constitutional crisis” and reflective of the Democratic legislative majorities’ infrequent session days this year. The Senate and House — which has struggled to pass legislation with its slim 56-54 majority — have met sparingly throughout 2024 and are not scheduled to come back into session until September.
“There are really critical things at stake now in Michigan,” Posthumus said. “The Supreme Court just put down a ruling that could decimate the entire service industry.”
Posthumus was referring to a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision that overturned a Republican-led effort to curb minimum wage and paid sick leave laws. The decision has left restaurants and businesses in a panic amid the threat of sudden increase to minimum wage, the elimination of the tipped wage and the implementation of mandatory paid sick leave rules.
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Attorney Steven Liedel, who served as chief legal counsel for former Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Whitmer transition team, rejected the idea that the situation was unconstitutional. The constitutional language governing the line of succession activates those individuals if or when there is a power or duty that needs to exercised, Liedel said.
“There’s nothing that says someone needs to be vested at all times,” Liedel said.
And, as a practical matter, “she’s in Chicago,” Liedel said. “All she has to do is take a plane, a car, a bus or train and the moment she crosses into Michigan, she can exercise any of the powers of governor.”
Liedel also questioned whether the role of the five individuals named in 2019 was only activated upon a disaster. There’s no precedent on the matter, he said, and it’s never been interpreted by an attorney general or court.
Attorney Mark Brewer, a longtime election lawyer and former chairman for the Michigan Democratic Party, said the concerns from Republicans were “silly” and somewhat ironic. It is likely, Brewer said, that Republicans found themselves in similar situations when they controlled the state’s six highest elected offices.
“That’s just a silly, hypocritical argument by the Republicans,” Brewer said. “They were in the same boat at one time.”
eleblanc@detroitnews.com
Michigan
Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.
Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.
Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.
Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.
Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.
The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.
Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.
Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.
Up next
Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.
Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.
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Michigan
Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.
The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.
The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.
The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.
Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.
The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.
The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.
This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.
The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.
On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.
The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.
West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.
On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.
Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”
On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.
“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.
Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.
Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.
Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.
He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.
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